Praedicator

Verba

Saturday, August 27, 2016 - Saturday in the 21th Week in Ordinary Time

[1 Cor 1:26-31 and Matt 25:14-30]

Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy. [Matthew]

AUGUST 27, 2016 ST. MONICA, mother of St. Augustine

These are words we all want to hear from the Lord at the end of our lives. But these words cannot be separated from the rest of the parable. Being "faithful in small matters" refers not to maintaining some "status quo" as a fixed and absolute state of affairs. The two servants who hear that "Well done...." took some big risks which paid off. The servant who suffers at the end of the parable was a victim of his fear of the master and buried the talent he was given to steward.

One of the important theological terms in official Catholic teaching is the "deposit of faith." This refers to certain revealed truths that God has "entrusted" to us to preach and live. For some, the responsibility is onerous because of fear that they might do something that will compromise that "deposit" and be subject to divine wrath at the end of time. For others (equally irresponsible) it is like some kind of "silly putty" that we can shape and form according to our own designs. Neither extreme reflects the integrity of our faith. We can never claim to know everything there is to know about God. We are meant to grow in faith and not cling to just one or two secure statements whose wording may have become so arcane that the meaning is lost because the language long since developed in a different direction. We have a great responsibility but it should not be one of fear but joy that we can grow in faith and understanding. What we learn in genetics, for example, declares the glory of God but it does not entitle us to "play God" and do whatever we want with that knowledge. The same is true for what we learn about physics and the atom, etc etc.

At the end of life we want to be considered "good and faithful" servants rather than fearful ones. AMEN